22 May 2012Cybercity, Ebene, MauritiusContact:
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The fourth Network Information and Infrastructure Service Award has been awarded to Alain Aina in recognition for his contribution to improving Internet connectivity, development and sustainability in Africa.

Mrs Isatou Jah of QCELL presented the Award to Alain Aina during AFRINIC's 16th Public Policy Meeting in Serekunda, The Gambia. Alain Aina presently holds several positions in numerous organisations. He is the Special Projects Manager at the African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC), a Board of trustee at ISOC, DNSSec Crypto officer at ICANN and Managing Director of TRSTech.

Dr. Nii Quaynor, conveyor of AfNOG and initiator of the Award praised Mr. Aina for his commitment to the development of the Internet in Africa. “This award gives an indication of our expectations from the community and rewarding Alain's exemplary work is a clear reflection of this. Such commitment will ensure that the community remains on the right path to success,” said Dr Quaynor during the awards ceremony held at the Sheraton Hotel in Banjul, The Gambia.

Aina was equally ecstatic. “For me, it was a big surprise. I feel humbled. This award comes with a lot of responsibility. I shall continue to work and contribute at the regional level, and continue to be involved in developing the technical and policy aspects of the Internet, as well as training,” said Mr Aina upon receiving the award.

Besides the main NI&I Award, a Young professional Award was also given to Chimwemwe Frederick for her contribution to the Internet infrastructure development. “The Award celebrates excellence in Africa. It is meant to reward innovation and commitment to the development of Internet in Africa,” says Adiel Akplogan, CEO of AFRINIC and recipient of the first NI&I Service Award in 2009.

The Network Information & Infrastructure (NI&I) Service Award was set up in 2009 during AfNOG’s 10 years anniversary by Dr Nii Narku Quaynor, who himself received the Internet Society's prestigious Jonathan Postel Award in 2007 for his service in the region and dedication, commitment and leadership. The NI&I Service Award has been set up to reward individuals and organisations for providing Internet services and Infrastructure in Africa. The NI&I Service Award pays recognizes and rewards the next generation of heroes and models from the African Internet technical community for their achievements.

Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) are independent, not-for-profit membership organisations that support the infrastructure of the Internet through technical coordination. There are five RIRs in the world today. Currently, the Internet Assigned Numbers Association (IANA) allocates blocks of IP addresses and ASNs, known collectively as Internet number resources, to the RIRs, who then distribute them to their members within their own specific service regions. RIR members include Internet Service Providers (ISPs), telecommunications organisations, large corporations, governments, academic institutions, and industry stakeholders, including end users. The RIR model of open, transparent participation has proven successful at responding to the rapidly changing Internet environment. Each RIR holds one to two open meetings per year, as well as facilitating online discussion by the community, to allow the open exchange of ideas from the technical community, the business sector, civil society, and government regulators.

About AFRINIC

The African Network Information Center (AFRINIC) is the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Africa, responsible for the distribution and management of Internet number resources such as IP addresses throughout the African region. AFRINIC’s mission is to provide professional and efficient distribution of Internet number resources to the African Internet community, to support Internet technology usage and development across the continent and to strengthen Internet self-governance in Africa by encouraging a participatory policy development.